Thomas a Becket, Michael Owen and other Mbarara Residents

Having been born in the early 1980's, we thought our chances of meeting Thomas a Becket would be slim, given that he was famously murdered in 1170 on the altar steps of Canterbury Cathedral.

Imagine our surprise, therefore, to be introduced to him by a colleague at a recent social event. Regrettably, as huge fans of beatified 12th Century martyrs, we were disappointed to hear that the man before us was born in northern Uganda in 1978 and was therefore almost certainly not the original version.

A contemporaneous photograph of Thomas Becket's murder.

It transpired that his parents were keen admirers of the deceased Archbishop and had decided to name their first-born son in his honour. This doesn't seem to be unusual practice in Uganda, where most people have entirely different forenames and surnames to their parents', opening up the possibility of becoming a namesake. As such, as well as Thomas a Becket, we've also met Michael Owen and Michael Jackson, which would make for an entertaining, if morbid, episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me. 

Michael Owen - ex-footballer

To add to the variety, most people here tend to structure their names with a Ugandan-style name first, followed by a European-style name.

This also leads to confusion when we introduce ourselves, as people assume that our working, hospital names are Dr David and Dr Kim, but informally they will call us 'Riding' (pronounced 'Rayding', which I prefer) and 'MacLeod' (variations in pronunciation infinite, even in the UK).

The second names also tend to be very traditional, as this list of some of our hospital colleagues reveals:

Dr Mutiibwe David, Dr Kayondo Stanley, Dr Rwambuka Godfrey, Dr Kanyago Samuel, Dr Ngozi Joseph etc.

It's also usual to meet people called Herbert, Moses, Gerald, Ronald, Gertrude, Beatrice, Henry, Isaac, Ernest and Albert, names which somehow give immediate authority. This is in contrast to Kim's experience in Liverpool where Nevaeh is a popular girls name ('Heaven' spelt backwards), and Chantelle, Britney and Beyonce all keep the taste police busy. Worryingly, American colleagues confirm a rash of unfortunate children called 'Lady' in tribute to The Gaga.

Whether the Ugandan names provide inspiration for any possible future offspring is still under discussion, but don't be surprised if you are introduced to Master Riding Agamemnon at some point in the future.